Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is commonly called, includes the transfer of orders or other sales communications, credit information, electronic "funds", and digital products. Electronic commerce has been recognized as offering the promise of providing speed and convenience to many types of commercial activities. Interest in electronic commerce has heightened with the advent of widely accessible communication systems such as the Internet. Other means for providing electronic commerce include direct telephone line connections, interactive cable or television services, telefacsimile services, local and wide area network communications and the like. Electronic data communications technologies, particularly the Internet, have greatly enhanced marketing and retail opportunities and activities.
To a large extent, the promise of electronic commerce has not been fully realized, partially because of concerns with security such as the potential for unauthorized manipulation of information. Such unauthorized manipulation of information includes diverting electronic fund transfers and delivery of unauthorized software (also referred to as "bootleg" or "pirated" software) to unauthorized destinations.
Although some attempts have been made to enhance the security of electronic commerce, software "pirating" has continued to affect software publishers, particularly due to the relative ease in electronically downloading or transmitting illegal copies of digital information. While the Internet provides a convenient medium for providing legally obtained electronic information, it similarly provides a convenient way to copy software. Even where software has been encrypted, once it is decrypted, the program or other digital content can be copied to other systems.
There is a need, therefore, for a method for facilitating electronic commerce which preferably minimizes the potential for unauthorized use of software programs, digital content and other computer information. The present invention provides a solution to these and other problems, and offers other advantages over the prior art.